Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Red Sox Should "Hold On To Holt" For 2015

(Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports)

In 2014, Brock Holt was FenwayNation's Player Of The Year, Rookie Of The Year, andPlayer Of The Month for June. Not bad for a "spare part" who cost John Henry less than the jock strap budget at Liverpool (we think around $500,000—but it might have been even less). Of course, bestowing all those honors on Holt was more of a "last guy standing" thing last year—sort of the best of the worst. Nevertheless, Holt was an outstanding player until the last few weeks of the season. Overall, he hit .281 in 106 games—playing seven positions: 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, LF, CF, RF (he even pinch-hit one time). No doubt, he can probably pitch and catch as well. In June, he was a revelation—hitting .322 with ten doubles and an OPS of .819. And, according to bean cannery night-watchman Bill James, Holt hit .349 in "close and late" situations—the best in the American League. Now, there's talk that several teams are interested in trading for Holt, but so far Boston has asked for "too much" in return. Good! Holt is one of the most unique and versatile players in baseball—and (like his uniform number) he's still just 26! Keep him!

FN ARCHIVE

FOLLOW BY EMAIL

FN TOP FIVE SOX BLOG

FN MEMBERSHIPS

CC—2018 FenwayNation.com—except Red Sox logo used in accordance with the Fair Use provision (section 107) of U.S. Copyright Act. This website is not affiliated with the Boston Red Sox, Major League Baseball or any other organization. Opinions expressed by FN columnists are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the full FN Board. Most game photos courtesy of the Associated Press, Getty Images and/or Reuters (unless otherwise attributed).